Simply put, I’m a sucker for great puck movement. After all, I did name a blog Cycle like the Sedins for goodness sakes. Tonight’s games featured three fantastic examples of smart passing and – to be honest – I couldn’t decide between them. (Carlo Colaiacovo scored a splendid backhand goal too. You should check that one out as well.)

The first goal is more of an individual moment, as the resurgent Maxim Afinogenov scored off a give-and-go that spotlighted the former Buffalo Sabres’ world class speed and creativity. It’s a beauty to watch.

After that, I have two great examples of brilliant tic-tac-toe passing. It almost seems like Pavel Datsyuk is a mandatory entry on our Goal of the Night posts; in this situation he sparks a wonderful chain reaction of passes that ended up being a Brian Rafalski goal. Datysuk also scored a huge tying goal that allowed the Red Wings to squeeze a charity point out of the night.

Finally, you can’t blame the Penguins for missing Sergei Gonchar and Evgeni Malkin after witnessing marvelous plays like this. Sidney Crosby wins the faceoff and then the puck is moved from Penguin to Penguin in a dizzying display of gorgeous puck movement. Gonchar (1 goal, 1 assist), Malkin (1 goal, 1 assist) and Crosby (3 assists) ended up making the difference for a Pittsburgh OT win that broke more than a few hearts in Atlanta.